* What: The Tennessee Hospitality Association has adopted the Chattanooga Green Lodging certification program as the official state program. Gov. Phil Bredesen has awarded Chattanooga city government with an environmental stewardship award for being "a national model for sustainable tourism planning."
* Companies: Tom Cupo, general manager of The Chattanoogan, originally envisioned the Green Lodging program that was quickly adopted by the major hotels in the city. Bill Mish, general manager of the Chattanooga DoubleTree hotel, used his position as the Tennessee Hospitality Association's president to push the statewide adoption of the program.
* How is it green? To be certified, a hotel must offer optional linen service, recycle and reduce waste, use water efficiently, conserve energy, offer green options for visiting conventioneers and write out an environmental impact plan.
* Why do it this way? Working together avoids competition, officials said.
* Plans for expanding? There are no plans to expand the program beyond Tennessee, as the program was designed to make Tennessee more competitive.
* Any suggestions for others considering green initiatives? Sustainability must be financially viable, and many changes that are made to become more environmentally sound save money. Involving individual hotels in the process instead of dictating involvement also became a key to success.
* Is this an essential part of the business and why? Yes. A significant percentage of tourists will give preference to hotels that are demonstrating sustainable practices, according to The International Ecotourism Association.